Court reporting bill heads to committee

New legislation sponsored by Sen. Sam McCann could make Illinois the 38th state to allow vocal court reporting as an alternative to the more common stenography.

Known as voice writing, the National Verbatim Reporter Association reports that 37 states now allow voice reporters to use a device called a “stenomask” to take down the verbatim dialogue of a court proceeding. Elizabeth Kavelman, president of the Illinois Verbatim Reporters Association, said the input methods may be different, but the end result is not.

“We use the same type of court reporting (stenographers) use,” Kavelman said. “We use a different type of equipment but the end product is a transcript and you can’t tell who put it in or how. It comes out exactly the same.”

Despite this, the Illinois Certified Shorthand Reporters Act does not allow for voice writers to be certified in the same way as stenographers, who use a “stenotype” — or a shorthand machine — that allows stenographers to type court records quickly.

Senate Bill 2965, sponsored by McCann, would amend the act to allow for the certification of verbatim reporters.

Voice writers now have to go out of state to find work, which can pose a problem for some, Kavelman said.

She relies on voice writing as her primary method of court reporting after she suffered an injury that prevents her from using a stenotype, she said.

“If someone is a steno writer and they injure their hands — that’s what happened to me — they can’t practice,” Kavelman said. “We want to be equally allowed to practice. There’s a big shortage of (court) reporters in Illinois and all across the United States.”

Voice writing produces very high accuracy rates without the need to know stenography and shorthand while producing speeds of up to 350 words a minute, the NVRA said.

The bill is scheduled for a hearing before the Licensed Activities and Pensions Committee at 3 p.m. Wednesday. Kavelman is asking voice writers to speak up in favor of the bill.

Nick Draper can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1223, or on Twitter @nick_draper.